Ruins of a Past Long Forgotten
by ArdoQuard
Summary: Branching off the Sinnoh Saga, Ash Ketchum meets up with a strange character that delivers startling news, starting him off on a new and epic adventure. However, unbeknownst to him, this greatest adventure may very well be his last. Ash's POV, some pearlshipping, includes objects/elements/characters not found in the game or anime.
1. Chapter 1: Silver and Red

**Hey fellow fanfiction writers of the Pokemon kingdom! Welcome to my first fanfiction! **

**The story is told in varying points of view, and will change as I see fit. There will be little bits of pearlshipping, but subtle enough for it to be believable. Other plot elements are sure to appear as well.**

**For this fic, I cut into the storyline of the DP Anime (Because that's my favorite series), so it will seem a little bit choppy at the beginning. I promise it will get better though!**

**Flashbacks will be told in Dawn's point of view, storyline will be told in Ash's point of view (Yes, including the flashbacks sections when it gets there). Third person will be for the Future Dawn story. **

**I noticed there are very few fics that are told entirely and truthfully from Ash's point of view. And since I had nothing to go on for what was in his head except that he's dense as heck, yeah, he will seem a little bit OOC. I will try my best to get his personality right though!**

**Time exists in this story. The characters will get older. For now, assume they are the same age as in the Anime.**

**This story will focus a lot on character development, especially Ash. The personalities of all the characters will have changed by the end, at least a little bit. That's why the flashback at the beginning will seem completely out of character.**

**Also, if you have the time, please review this fic! I would appreciate it sooooo much if you guys gave me your opinions. My sisters don't seem to want to help me out. Don't know when I'm updating next, but I'll try to take everything you say into account.**

**I'm a guy, by the way. I'm still a sophomore in high school. I love creative writing, but I've never really finished a piece. I hope that will change :)**

**Man do I wish I own Pokemon. Too bad I don't.**

* * *

"_All adventures must end somewhere. For me, it's here."_

_The steps were starting to crumble._

_I felt my chest get heavier with each breath I took. "Ash…"_

_He was already starting to fade away into the darkness. It was all I could do to keep from bursting into tears._

_He looked at me with a sorrowful expression on his face. "I know you're sad. But this is the path that was chosen for me."_

_I looked up at him, hands shaking. "I thought you believed in making your own destiny."_

_This made him speechless. He dropped his eyes to the floor. "The truth is…"_

_Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud boom, and the entire room shook violently. _

_I shrieked. The steps beneath my feet were no longer there, and I was completely unsupported. _

"_Dawn!"_

_Ash caught me by the arm just as I was about to fall to my death, pulling me up onto the glowing platform using what little energy he had left. I could see his arms trembling as he picked up the small blue sphere we had all come to hate so much off of the pedestal it was placed on, and put it in my hand. Then he looked me straight in the eye. _

"_Dawn, I want you to be careful, ok? Take this with you."_

"_But-"_

"_This sphere is the key to unlock the ruins. Keep it safe."_

"_But it only works once!"_

"_I know. Still, though…"_

"_Still what?"_

"_There is a little bit of power left in that sphere. I don't want anyone to ever find it again. Also…"_

_His gaze dropped once again. He seemed to have trouble saying something. I stared at his face, watching as it became more and more transparent. _

"_Ash…you're fading away…"_

_He looked up again with a renewed sense of urgency. "I want you to remember me."_

_I stared into his eyes, trying desperately not to cry. Then I nodded. _

_He smiled softly. "You're a good friend, Dawn". _

_I felt a tear slowly make its way down my face. "So are you", I whispered._

_He pulled me into a hug, the very last one he would ever give. He was warm, yet I felt cold all the same. _

_We stood there for a while, the chamber around us crumbling apart. When we finally let go of each other, I could barely see him anymore. _

"_Take good care."_

_His words were faint._

"_I'll see you again someday, I promise."_

_The darkness was swallowing up his lower body, and was moving upward rapidly. _

"_No…need…to worry."_

_He managed to choke out those last words before giving me an encouraging smile. _

_Then he was gone._

* * *

_Maybe I should sleep_.

The girl was sitting on the side of her bed, dressed in her pajamas. She looked up at the clock. It was 3 in the morning. _No surprise there_, she thought. She would often get so caught up inside her head that she would lose track of time in the real world.

Behind her, a small creature that resembled a miniature blue penguin was sleeping soundly under blue covers.

"Pip…pip…pip…", it snored softly. It was so used to its master staying up all night that it had learned to fall asleep even with the lights on.

The room was silent, except for the faint ticking of the girl's watch. There was a dim glow coming from an old lamp sitting on her nightstand, barely illuminating her face, but leaving much of the room encased in darkness. She liked it that way though. It was easier to think.

_More like easier to get depressed while buried in old memories._

She sighed. _Maybe I should just try to forget everything_.

It was much easier said than done.

She glanced at the small object sitting next to her pokéballs on her desk. It was a round blue orb about the size of a marble. Ever since she'd placed it in that very spot two and a half years ago, it had been collecting dust. She didn't dare touch it. Not after what happened last time.

Still, it seemed to shine just as bright as if it were polished not ten seconds ago.

The sight of the orb brought a warm feeling to the girl. She remembered a promise that a friend had made to her, before he disappeared…

She looked up at the clock again. It was already 3:30.

_Time sure flies._

The girl reached out to turn off her light.

She lied down next to the blue creature on her bed, despite knowing that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, even in the dark.

Especially in the dark.

* * *

**CHAPTER 1: SILVER AND RED**

Waking up has never been my thing. I hate waking up. In fact, I hate mornings in general. Why get up early when the only thing you're going to do is walk all day? Walking can be done anytime. Sleeping, not quite. Once, I tried to grab a quick nap in between training sessions, just to rest up for a bit. I mean, pokémon get to rest in their pokéballs, right? So why not me? Just as soon as I fell asleep, Dawn came out of nowhere and yelled at me to wake up. She said something about setting an example as a trainer, never slacking off, blah blah blah. It's not that I don't agree. Dawn's one of my best friends, and I completely respect her, but sometimes I wonder if her sole purpose in life is to ruin mine.

Then I remembered. Today was the day I finally make it to Sunyshore city. The day I get my eighth badge and qualify for the Sinnoh League. The day I catch up with Paul.

Suddenly, mornings seemed very appealing.

I jumped out of my sleeping bag, scaring everyone around me half to death. Brock nearly spilled the morning soup all over himself. Pikachu, who was sleeping beside me, was so surprised that he sent out an electric shock that, just by chance, hit Dawn and messed up her hair.

"I am SO ready to get my eighth badge!", I yelled out.

Brock chuckled at my enthusiasm. "It's about time. We thought you were never going to wake up."

Dawn wasn't quite as happy. "Ash Ketchum! Do you have any idea how much time I spent fixing my hair this morning?!"

I didn't. So I said no.

She sighed with exasperation. "Boys…"

"So Brock, what's for breakfast?", I asked as I put my hat on.

"What do we _ever_ have for breakfast?"

Dawn was brushing her hair in front of a mirror again.

"I didn't ask _you_ Dawn. I asked Brock."

Without looking up at either of us, Brock replied, "We're having the usual."

I didn't have to look at Dawn to tell she was smirking. Whatever. Food is food, with or without a side dish of sassiness.

"You could have at least helped me out a little", I mumbled.

Brock obviously heard me. He winked at me and said matter-of-factly, "I always side with the girl."

Figures.

"Pika!" I looked down, and saw Pikachu standing in front of an empty bowl.

"Are you hungry Pikachu?"

"Pika pika!" He nodded.

I grabbed some of Brock's Pokémon food and put it in Pikachu's bowl. He started to eat it immediately.

Brock turned to me. "Ash, breakfast isn't quite ready yet. We should all eat together."

I smiled up at him. "I know. But I don't want Pikachu to be hungry."

Dawn walked over to where we were.

"Now if you could take a little bit of that consideration and use it to stop messing up my hair, I'd be very grateful."

I noticed that she had finished brushing her hair. Or…it looked finished to me. I never really paid much attention to it.

"Um…it looks nice.", I said in an attempt to make up for earlier actions.

"What, my hair?"

"Yeah."

"No thanks to you." She winked at me, then walked over to Brock to see how the cooking was going.

_Well_, I thought. _That was a little rude_.

"FOOD IS READY!"

I rushed to my seat quicker than Pikachu's quick attack.

We all let out our pokémon for breakfast, then chowed down on some great soup, courtesy of Brock.

"Ah…it never fails to disappoint, even though it's the same every day.", I said after finishing my third bowl.

The others agreed.

Finally, when everything had been cleaned up, I called my playing pokémon back to their pokéballs.

"Grotle, Infernape, Buisel, Staraptor, Gible, return! Ok, time to go!"

I could barely contain myself. I was about to get my eighth badge! I've been waiting for this moment since the beginning of the journey. The eighth badge is always the best one! Or in the case of the Battle Frontier, the seventh is the best one. They're both the best. Every badge is the best.

Dawn tapped me on the shoulder, effectively pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Remember, you have to beat the gym leader first to get the badge", she said to me jokingly.

"That won't be a problem!" I grinned. I turned to Pikachu, who was waiting eagerly. "Alright Pikachu, you ready?"

"Pika-chu!", my pal yelled, giving me his determined face. Then he climbed up onto my shoulder.

"How about you Piplup?"

"Piplup!" The little penguin ran up to Dawn and jumped into her arms. Dawn didn't seem to put Piplup back in its pokéball much anymore. Maybe she wanted Piplup to be more like Pikachu.

Piplup noticed me staring at him and looked at me inquisitively. I shook my head.

"Hurry it up Brock!", I yelled, desperate to get moving.

No response. Weird. He was usually the first to be ready.

"Brock! What's going on?" He was nowhere in sight.

I turned to Dawn. "Do you know where Brock went?"

She shrugged. "Maybe he saw a girl or something. Or he fell into one of Team Rocket's pit traps."

"Either way", I said. "We should go look." Dawn nodded in agreement.

We put down our pokémon and started to look around the forest clearing where we set up camp. I thought it was kind of funny that I was looking for Brock. Usually, he was the one hunting me down, along with whoever it was we were traveling with. I get carried away a lot. But come on, pokémon are the coolest! Whenever I see a really awesome pokémon or strong trainer, I just _have_ to go check it out. The others call it immaturity. I think it's just a habit.

"We've been looking for a while now", Dawn said, clearly worried. "Maybe we should try something else."

"Good idea.", I agreed.

I threw a pokéball up into the air. "Staraptor! Fly around here and see if you can find Brock!"

"Starrrrraptor!", it replied, immediately soaring up into the sky. I honestly don't know what I would do without that bird.

Just then, out of the bushes, a rustling noise caught my attention. I stood on guard. Maybe it was Team Rocket, here to steal Pikachu again. Dawn didn't seem to notice it. I was about to tell her when I heard the noise again. Turning toward the bush, I tensed up in anticipation.

I stared for a good ten minutes. The noise didn't come again. I called to Pikachu.

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt on that bush over there."

Pikachu, hearing my command, rushed over and sent a powerful bolt of electricity straight at the bush where the rustling was coming from.

We waited for a little bit, but nothing happened. Pikachu looked up at me for a cue. "Pika?"

"It's okay Pikachu. I thought I heard something come from over there. I guess my mind was just playing tricks on me."

"Piiiika…" I could tell Pikachu was still a little anxious. He took one more look at the bush, then ran off to keep searching for Brock.

"Starrrraptor!" I turned and looked up to see that Staraptor had returned. "Staraptor! Did you find Brock?"

"Starrr…"

"I guess not huh. Ok, take one more look around the area."  
Dawn chose this moment to notice what was going on. She rushed over when she saw that Staraptor was back.

"Staraptor! Did you find Brock?"

I sweat dropped.

"Great timing Dawn."

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind."

Staraptor flew off to continue the search from the air. I sighed. This was a little ridiculous, even for one of _us_. If I knew we'd be spending the entire morning wandering around the forest looking for a guy who dressed in the same colors as the foliage, I wouldn't have woken up at all.

I started to feel hungry again. _Too bad Brock has to be missing_.

I sat down on the ground. "He couldn't have gotten _that_ far, could he?"

Dawn sat down next to me. "I've already circled the entire clearing. There isn't a sign of him anywhere."

"I guess we just wait for Staraptor to get back".

"Yeah, I guess."

It was quiet for a little bit. Pikachu got back up on my shoulder. I began to think about my upcoming gym battle.

_Sunyshore gym is an electric type gym. So I guess if I want the advantage, I'd have to use Grotle or Gible. Staraptor and Buisel are at a disadvantage, and Pikachu is an electric type himself. Infernape can use dig to escape electric attacks, but I guess since electric types are generally really fast, I'd have to counter speed with speed. Choices…_

"What are you guys thinking about?"

Dawn and I jumped up. Piplup accidentally spit a few bubbles. Pikachu fell off my shoulder.

We both turned around to see…

"Brock?" Dawn and I said his name at the same time.

"Where were you?" I was a more than a little annoyed that he came back, acting as if nothing had happened.

"I…" He paused. "I went to pick a couple pecha berries."

"Oh…ok. Well tell us before you disappear next time." I didn't see why he had to be so secretive about it.

Dawn kicked me. "OW! What was that for?"

She looked at me as if I were deaf. "He's _clearly_ lying."

"He is?"

Choosing to ignore my question, Dawn turned back to Brock.

"Where were you really Brock? And why did you run off without telling us?"

"I don't–" Before he could finish what he was going to say, the rustling noise I heard coming from the bush earlier came again. This time, everyone heard it.

"Oh no." Brock was completely frozen. I'd never seen him so scared in my life.

"Brock, do you know what it is?", I asked.

He didn't respond. He just put his hand on my shoulder and slowly began to push me back.

"What's going on?"

"Shhh!" He put his other hand over my mouth to shut me up.

This was completely unlike the guy. Less than an hour ago, he was laughing and joking around while making breakfast. Now, he seemed completely and utterly terrified.

Dawn knew enough to stay silent and move slowly. She seemed really affected by Brock's sudden lack of confidence.

The noise came again. Louder this time. Then, as if appearing out of thin air, someone fell out of the bush.

Dawn screamed and grabbed my arm. So much for silence.

Brock finally let go of his breath.

"Bwuuk? Cwud oo twuk yur hfandt uff uf mw fuss?"

He noticed that his hand was still tightly pressed over my mouth. "Oops. Sorry." He took it off.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Try to be gentler next time, ok?"

The guy on the ground groaned. We made our way to him a little bit at a time, not wanting to get too close. He was light skinned, and looked about the same age as Brock, if not a little older. His hair was dark brown, almost black. From what I could see of his face, he'd been attacked recently by something sharp, probably a pokémon with sharp claws. His eyes were closed, but they were twitching. If I didn't know he was awake I'd probably have thought he was just having a bad dream. But obviously it wasn't a dream he was having.

He wore a dark blue shirt, and black pants that looked extremely uncomfortable. They were both covered with holes, revealing skin underneath that wasn't exactly magazine material. This guy was really beat up.

"Ugh…"

He managed to lift his head a little bit to take a look around. I gasped. I would have assumed this guy was a completely normal human being if it weren't for…

"His eyes…" Dawn seemed to see it too.

The boy's left eye was a silver color that resembled shiny aluminum. It sparkled, but unnaturally, like the way snow sparkles when the sun shines on it. His right eye was dark red, as if it had been painted. It was dull, in sharp contrast to his silver one, but it had a sharpness to it, as if he could see things beyond normal human capabilities.

Dawn, Brock and I stood still for a while, and just stared at him. He looked at us with a blank expression on his face. Then he put his head down on the ground and passed out.

This set Brock into motion. He ran to the boy, searching through his backpack for something he could use to help heal the wounds on his face and his body.

"Ash! Grab me some water, would ya?"

I snapped out of my trance and nodded. Dawn was still staring. I nudged her, then ran off to see if I could find any water nearby.

_Brock made soup this morning, so he must have found water somewhere near here._

"Starrraptor!"

I looked up to the sky. Staraptor had come back. I waved to him, letting the bird know where I was.

"It's okay Staraptor! We found Brock! Thanks for all your help!"

"Star!"

"Staraptor, return!" I put the bird back in its pokéball, then continued to search for water. Luckily, I found a small stream flowing just a short walk from where we set up camp.

I took a bowl out of my backpack, then filled it with the water flowing from the stream. Not wanting to waste time, I ran back to Brock with the bowl in my hands.

Brock looked up. "Did you find water?"

"Yup. There was a stream right near here."

Brock didn't look the least bit amused. "Did you remember to fill the bowl?"  
"Of course I – huh?" I looked down at the bowl. It was completely empty.

"I was sure I filled it…guess it must have spilled when I ran here. I'll go back."

"Hurry Ash." Brock turned his focus back to the unconscious boy.

I ran back to where I had seen the stream before, only to stop in my tracks when I reached it.

_I'm sure this was the place_…

Where the stream once was, there was only a trench that looked like it was formed through erosion. The water seemed to have completely dried up in the short time that I left.

"Weird", I said out loud. "I didn't know water could disappear that fast".

I shrugged it off. I've seen weirder things on my journey, I guess.

By the time I had found another water source and brought a bowl back to Brock, it was already early afternoon. Half the day had gone by, and we still weren't on our way to Sunyshore city yet. I was starting to get frustrated.

"Here Brock, I finally found some water."

"It's about time". That wasn't Brock's voice. I looked over to the place where I saw Brock last.

"He went off to look for some water himself, seeing that you were taking so long."

The boy that fell out of the bush was sitting upright, and completely conscious.

"Um, hi. Er…" I didn't know what to say. I was DEFINITELY not expecting him to be up so soon.

Remembering that I was still holding a bowl of water, I offered it to the boy, not knowing what else to do with it.

He took the bowl from me and drank the water. "Thanks".

"No problem. I'm Ash Ketchum fr–"

"From Pallet Town. I know." I was stunned.

"You know?"

He hesitated. "Yes, of course", he finally replied after a pause. "I'm a big fan of yours".

Something didn't seem right about the way he said that. But I went with it. It wasn't every day I met a fan!

"Wow, that's cool. I didn't know I had fans."

He chuckled. "You have a lot of fans, Ash."

This was news to me. Most people didn't have a clue who I was. I hadn't won a single league before, so I assumed that in others' minds, I was of no importance. Maybe I was being a little too hard on myself.

The boy held out his hand. "My name is Kashdan. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too Kashdan." I realized it was kind of awkward shaking hands with someone who was sitting down, so I sat down too.

"What were you doing in that bush?", I asked.

"Hm? Oh that. I was looking for something I dropped."

"Did you find it?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"That's too bad. I could help you look if you wanted."

"No, it's fine. It wasn't very important anyway."

We sat there for a little bit. He didn't seem to want to talk much. I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask him though, like who he was and where he was from and what kind of pokémon he had. Also his eyes…I'll have to remember to ask about those too.

Dawn came back from the forest holding a couple berries and an apple. She walked up to us and put down the fruit. "Where did Brock go?"

"He went to find some water", I answered.

"I thought you were supposed to get the water".

"I was. But I couldn't find any for a long time."

"Oh".

Then she noticed Kashdan. "Oh hi! You're awake!"

"So I am".

"I'm Dawn. I'm a pokémon coordinator".

"That's neat Dawn. I'm Kashdan."

He still didn't seem to want to talk much. Dawn noticed it too and sat down beside me. She looked at me sideways questioningly, obviously wondering what Kashdan's problem was. I just shrugged.

We waited for Brock to return from the forest quietly.

_I really hope he doesn't disappear again this time. I really need to get to Sunyshore city for my gym battle._

Kashdan suddenly turned toward me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He turned his attention back toward the ground.

After a good long wait, Brock finally reappeared holding a bowl of water.

"It's about time Brock!" I said, jumping up. Brock looked surprised.

"Ash. You're back."

"Yeah, I am. So while we're all here, why don't we get moving toward Sunyshore City so I can get my badge before the sun goes down?"  
Brock looked a little unsure of what to do. "What about Kashdan?"

"There's gotta be a Pokémon Center in the city", Dawn said. "We can take him there to rest up. No need to worry."

Brock still looked a little unsure.

Kashdan spoke up. "I would prefer you not to take me to the city".

We all turned to him. "Why not?", I asked. "You're hurt. You need medical help".

"Two reasons. One, I hate being in public places, especially when I'm weak. Two…"

He trailed off, and looked down at the ground, contemplating whether to say it or not.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings Ash, but…"

I was confused. "Hurt my feelings?"

He looked at me with his sparkling silver and blood red eyes.

"Sunyshore City doesn't exist anymore".


	2. Chapter 2: VS Kashdan - Battle mode on

**Who's excited for Pokemon X and Y? I know I am! ...even though I don't have a 3DS, and the anime won't be released in the US until next year. *sigh***

**Anyway, Here's chapter 2! 90% of this chapter is a battle, and I don't know how interesting you guys will find it. **

**I personally like the Anime battles over the game battles alot. There's so much more strategy to everything.**

**If you found the first chapter a little corny or a little rushed, SORRY! That's what my sisters have been telling me. I'm hoping this chapter will be at least a little bit better, and that it will only go uphill from here. **

**Oh, and the little third person bits between the flashback and the actual storyline won't be in every chapter. It'll only appear when necessary.**

**For those of you who want answers to all of the weird things that have been happening, please be patient ;) They'll come along eventually. **

**So, without further ado, let the adventure continue!**

**(Still don't own pokemon. Pokedex entries from Bulbapedia)**

* * *

"_This is it, huh."_

_Ash and Kashdan stood next to each other, facing me, Brock, and the others. The entrance to the Destiny Pillar was behind them. _

"_Yeah, I guess". Brock was having difficulty making eye contact with either of them. I wasn't doing much better than him._

_Ash stepped forward toward us. "Brock, I want you to take my pokémon. Bring them back to Professor Oak's Lab when you get to Kanto, ok?"_

_Brock nodded. Ash removed the six pokéballs that he carried on his belt and handed them over to Brock. Noticing that Brock was still looking at the ground, he put a hand on the older boy's shoulder. "It'll be ok. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't the right thing to do."_

_Kashdan managed a smile. "Since when did you get so poetic, Ash?"_

_Ash looked back at the boy with the silver eye. "Since you started bugging me about how dense I was."_

_Kashdan chuckled. "You sure were dense."_

_Ash ignored Kashdan's comment. He turned his attention to the people standing in front of him. More specifically, me._

_He looked a little flustered, as if he was debating whether or not to say something. _

_The longer he just stood there, the more anxious I got, until I simply couldn't stand it anymore. I walked right up to him and hugged him as hard as I could. I could tell he was surprised. It made me smile a little knowing that I had caught him off guard. _

_He hugged me back after a bit. I kept waiting for him to say something, but he never did._

_Something wet fell onto my shoulder. Was Ash crying? I've never seen him cry before. Just the thought of it…_

_I pushed him away. "That's it", I said. "I'm coming with you"._

"_What?!" Everyone turned to me in unison._

"_I'm going to go in with Ash and Kashdan."_

_Ash looked me dead in the eye. "Dawn, you can't do that! You'd be putting yourself in great danger!"_

"_Oh please. Why don't we let your tears speak for themselves."_

_He turned away, clearly embarrassed by what I had said. Kashdan turned toward me and raised an eyebrow. I shook my head. Now wasn't the time to be making jokes._

"_Fine", Ash mumbled, still not meeting my eyes. "I just don't want you getting hurt"._

"_Aww, that's sweet", I said as I handed my pokéballs over to Brock for safekeeping._

_Then I walked over to stand next to Kashdan as Ash said a couple final words to our other companions. _

_Kashdan whispered in my ear, "Was he actually crying?"_

_I smiled. "Let's let this one slide, ok?"_

_The kid wasn't going to let that happen. "He liiiiikes youuu", he sung. I kicked his foot, but I couldn't hide the blood rushing to my face. Kashdan didn't even flinch. He just stood there with a huge grin._

"_Mission accomplished", he said to no one in particular. This guy was so immature, it was like having a second Ash around, only worse. _

"_Note to self: If you ever see a guy fall out of a bush again, don't help him. He will only end up making your life awkward and miserable."_

_This time Kashdan kicked me. "I heard that". _

_I didn't care. "Good. That means you're not deaf."_

_By this point, Ash had finished saying his good-byes. He walked over to where Kashdan and I stood waiting to enter the gate to the Destiny Pillar._

_"Well, are we ready to go?" He noticed that Kashdan was smirking at him. "What are you smiling at?"_

"_Oooooh nothing."_

_Ash squinted at Kashdan. "Riiiiight."_

_Not wanting things to get any more awkward than they were, I grabbed both of their arms and dragged them into the gate. Too late to turn back now._

* * *

**CHAPTER 2: VS KASHDAN - BATTLE MODE ON**

"Sunyshore City doesn't exist anymore."

There was a pause after he said that. We all stared at him like he was completely out of his mind. Which, given the circumstances, was pretty likely.

I shook my head violently to clear my already befuzzled brain. "Huh?"

"Ok, well, it still exists. Just...it's complicated."

Kashdan looked at us as if we were just _supposed_ to getit. Which, judging by the looks on both Dawn and Brock's faces, none of us did.

"Look, bottom line is this. We can't go there."

"But why not?" I was very confused. Ever since this morning, things have just been getting weirder and weirder. First, Brock disappears into the forest and comes back as a completely different person. Then, a guy with crazy colored eyes and a very strange set of clothes falls out of a bush. A stream disappears completely in a time span of five minutes, and now I can't go to Sunyshore City to get my eighth gym badge because it doesn't exist anymore? I was getting a headache.

Kashdan winced. He was obviously still in pain.

Brock quickly rushed over and examined the bandages that he had placed over Kashdan's wounds. "It doesn't look like Kashdan can make it to the City even if he tried. Looks like we'll just have to wait here until he gets better. Ash, I hope you don't mind."

I did mind. I minded a lot. I was SO close to entering the Sinnoh League, and now my dreams for becoming champion were crushed by some guy who appeared out of nowhere.

"No, I don't mind." I gritted my teeth and lied.

"Good." Brock turned his attention back to Kashdan's wounds.

I sighed. This time it wasn't the gym leader that wasn't available. It was me.

Dawn stood and put a hand on my shoulder. "It's ok Ash. You'll get your badge eventually."

I didn't look up. "Maybe not", I replied, referring to what Kashdan said earlier. I still didn't know what he meant, but I had a bad feeling it involved me not getting my gym battle.

"Hey, Ash."

As if reading my thoughts, Kashdan spoke up. "I'm sorry about your gym battle. If you want, I'll battle you to make up for it."

This took me completely by surprise. I'd met him not ten minutes ago, some guy who claimed to be my fan (okay that was a good thing), and already he was offering me a battle? I honestly didn't know what to say.

Brock looked at me out of the corner of his eye, urging me to refuse the offer.

Kashdan seemed to read Brock's thoughts too.

"I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me. I'm sure Ash has been dying to see my pokémon anyway."

It was true. I _have_ been dying to see his pokémon. _How did he know though?_

"Alright, it's a deal." I wasn't going to turn down an offer to battle. That just wasn't my style. Plus, doing something normal like battling might help me clear my mind. _It could also answer some of my questions about Kashdan._

The boy smiled for the first time, flashing his silver eye at me.  
_Oh yeah. I forgot to ask about his eyes_.

"Hey, Kashdan, about–", I began. He cut me off.

"Let's just get started, ok? Save the questions for later."

This was getting weird. He seemed to be able to predict everything I was going to say.

Dawn giggled from behind me. "Guess he's just as eager to battle as you are."

I scratched my head. _Not quite sure that was why he cut me off, Dawn._

Brock, seeing that he had no say over the matter whatsoever, simply offered a hand to Kashdan. Kashdan refused it and chuckled. "Honestly, Brock. I'm not as weak as I look."

Placing his hands on the ground palms down, he pushed himself up into a standing position. I thought he wouldn't be able to walk at first, but he didn't seem to have any problem putting one foot in front of the other. Strange, given that the reason I thought he couldn't walk wasn't because he was hurt, but because he was wrapped up in Brock's stiff bandages.

I looked over toward the clearing. Pikachu, who had been napping while we were taking care of Kashdan, was now wide awake and listening in on our conversation.

"Are you ready to battle Pikachu?" I didn't have to ask to know the answer.

"Pika! Pika-chu!" The small yellow pokémon ran over to me and hopped back on my shoulder, chock full of electric energy.

"Good." I turned to Brock. "Can you referee, Brock?"

"I think I'll pass on this one", he replied. "It's already afternoon, and we haven't had lunch yet. Why don't you guys battle, and then come eat when you're finished?"

"Sounds good to me!" My stomach certainly wasn't going to argue with Brock.

Dawn stepped forward. "I guess that means I referee!"

Kashdan and I both nodded.

The three of us walked over to the forest clearing while Brock started to prepare his cooking equipment. It was a quiet place, and the trees provided us with great obstacles for our battleground.

I walked over to the far left side, Kashdan to the far right.  
"How do you want to do this?", I asked him.

"Well, since this is supposed to make up for your eighth gym battle, why don't we battle as if this were an actual gym? Three on three, except both of us can substitute pokémon."

"Deal."

Dawn, hugging Piplup, was standing by the edge of the clearing. She was waiting for us to give the cue to start.

"I have no badge to give you if you win, but I'll try to make this the best battle I can." Kashdan certainly didn't look like a weak opponent.

"Me too."

Dawn sensed that we were both ready, so she began to speak. "This battle between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Kashdan of … uh…" She paused. Kashdan hadn't told us where he was from yet.

"Kashdan of…that bush over there…will now begin! Each trainer will be allowed to use three pokémon. The match is over when all three of one trainer's pokémon are deemed unable to battle. Now, choose your first pokémon!"

I had my strategy all figured out. Since I didn't know what pokémon Kashdan had, I would start by testing his speed. Pikachu, Buizel, and Staraptor were all pretty fast, so one of them were probably up first. Next, once I had his speed figured out, I'd go for his weak point. If he was fast, I'd go heavy on the defensive. Grotle would be a good choice. If he was slow or grounded, I'd use Staraptor to get the advantage from the sky. Plus, I could put the environment to good use.

"Buizel, I choose you!"

"Sableye! Battle mode!"  
Sableye. That was a pokémon I hadn't seen in a long time. I checked it with my pokédex to help refresh my memory.

"Sableye, the Darkness Pokémon. Sableye likes to hide in the darkness of caves. Its diet of gems has transformed its eyes into gemstones".

A dark type. This could get interesting.

"Ok! Ash has the first move!"

"Buizel! Use water gun!"  
Reacting quickly to the command, Buizel shot a jet of water from its mouth toward Sableye.

"Sableye, use payback!"

Sableye didn't move, allowing the water gun to score a direct hit. It either wasn't listening to Kashdan's command, or it was extremely slow. Or both.

Suddenly, Sableye began to glow a dark purple color, both of its gem eyes filling up with a black flame. The darkness became more and more intense, until the impish pokémon was almost completely engulfed by purple light. The immense power and energy built up very quickly, and I could almost feel myself shiver a little. _If hatred could be seen, this is what it would look like._

"What the…" I was definitely not prepared for what was coming. Sableye released a barrage of glowing purple flames that flew directly at Buizel, who didn't know what to do.

I was frozen as well. I hadn't seen this move before.

The flames came head on and converged onto Buizel, causing him to cry out sharply.

"Bui!"

"Oh no! Buizel!" Before I could give a command, the flames disappeared, and Buizel collapsed onto the ground, seriously damaged. I was dumbstruck. Did Sableye even take damage from the water gun? I looked up at it. It did seem a little bit worn out, but not nearly as much as Buizel was.

"What was that move?"

I checked my pokédex. "Payback. When a pokémon uses payback after it has taken damage on the same turn, its power is doubled."

Definitely a dark type move.

"Sableye's special ability is stall", Kashdan began to explain to me.

"It will always move after its opponent, unless it uses a priority move. Payback's damage doubles if the user takes damage first, so it's a great move to accompany Sableye's ability."

_So that's why he let water gun score a direct hit!_ Although his strategy certainly didn't work in my favor, I had to admit it was very smart. I looked toward Buizel, who was still struggling to get up.

_Buizel's special ability is swift swim. It's not raining, so I can't use swift swim to my advantage like Kashdan is using stall. If I just attack Sableye, he'll probably use payback again, and that would mean the end for Buizel. But if I don't attack, he'll attack me. So my only option is…_

I suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Buizel! Use water gun straight up into the air!"

"Bui!"

Buizel was on his feet by this point, and launched a powerful water gun straight upward. He still wasn't strong enough to do much else though, and Kashdan knew it too.

"Sableye, use night shade!"

Sableye shot a pair of black lasers out of its eyes, aiming toward Buizel. If this hit, it was all over.

Buizel was too weak to move or defend itself at the moment. _But…_

I closed my eyes. _Come on…_

A drop of water landed on my shoulder. My eyes snapped open. "Buizel! Dodge!"  
The water gun that Buizel had shot up into the air was coming down in the form of rain, activating swift swim. It wouldn't last long though, so I had to finish the battle fast.

Buizel jumped out of the way of the night shade with renewed speed and energy.

"Now! Use aqua jet into ice punch!"

If this worked out right, I could land a successful ice aqua jet and an ice punch at the same time. That had to be enough to finish_ any_ pokémon.

Water flowed around Buizel's feet, quickly submerging it in a water bullet. He sprung up off the ground, and came at Sableye with blinding speed, his paw glowing an icy blue color and drawn back to prepare for a powerful punch. Already the water was starting to freeze over.  
Kashdan looked awfully calm, even though Buizel was advancing at an extremely fast rate.

"Sableye, endure!"

Kashdan barely finished speaking when Buizel made direct contact. The battlefield exploded in a cloud of ice and dust. I covered my eyes and turned away to protect my face from the oncoming debris, which included leaves and dirt that were picked up from the impact. The sheer force that I felt only boosted my confidence. I couldn't see Kashdan, or even Dawn for that matter. They were probably doing the same thing I was.

When the battlefield cleared, I was completely expecting to see Sableye on the ground, unable to battle. So when I noticed he was still standing, I did a double take.

"But how?!" I stared at the dark type pokémon, not believing my eyes.

"Surprised Ash?" Kashdan was smiling. "I can tell by the look on your face. You're not the only one with tricks up your sleeve."

"How did Sableye–"

"Not collapse? Endure is a move that allows a pokémon to barely hang on with the last of its health, even when being attacked with extremely overpowered moves, like the one you just used. Granted, my Sableye is very weak now."

Sableye did look very weak.

"But then again…so is your Buizel."

Buizel! I had completely forgotten about him when I saw Sableye! The small otter-like creature was kneeling on the ground, panting hard. The swift swim had worn off, and the powerful combination he just used had taken a ton of energy out of him.

"Sableye, use night shade."  
Kashdan didn't waste any time. Sableye shot a pair of black lasers out of its eyes, scoring a direct hit on the exhausted Buizel.

Buizel didn't even have time to cry out. He collapsed on the ground, and fainted.

"Buizel is unable to battle! Sableye is the winner!" Dawn didn't sound too enthusiastic. I guess she wanted me to win. I took Buizel's pokéball from my belt and recalled him. "Thanks Buizel. You put up a great fight."

"Well Ash? Would you like to continue?"

Kashdan was extremely good. I was almost tempted to say no.

"Definitely. I never back down to a challenge."

"Good."

I thought about my options. Buizel was down for the count, and one move could knock out Sableye. If I chose a pokémon that had an advantage over Sableye though, Kashdan's next pokémon could have a huge advantage over mine. It seemed like a no-win situation for me.  
Guess I have to take a chance.

"Staraptor! I choose you!"

The large falcon-like bird came out of its pokéball and flew up into the air, ready as always to battle.

"Starrrrraptor!"

"Staraptor, finish Sableye with a quick attack!"

I knew Sableye couldn't move first because of its special ability, and using a priority move like quick attack only ensured that I would take it out.

Staraptor dove down sharply, and hit Sableye head-first…then went straight through him.

_Oh no! I forgot! Sableye is also part ghost type! Normal type attacks like quick attack won't have any effect!_

I hit myself mentally for making such a simple mistake.

Kashdan looked at me curiously. _This is it, _I thought. _He's going to finish me_.

"Sableye, return!"

What?

A red light appeared, and Sableye returned to its pokéball.

"Why did you do that?!" Kashdan was probably the most unpredictable person I had ever faced, with the exception of Paul. Either that, or I was getting really predictable. _He does always seem to know what I'm thinking._ Kashdan was a strange character all right.

"Sableye is tired. I'll let it rest." He was definitely not like Paul…Paul would have some greater motive that had nothing to do with his pokémon's wellbeing. All the same, I had no idea what Kashdan was up to.

I waited anxiously for him to reveal his second pokémon.

Dawn was staring at Kashdan anxiously too. This guy was playing our emotions like cards in his hand.

Suddenly, a nice smell filled the air. My stomach rumbled.

"Hey, lunch is ready!" Brock was waving at us from where he set up our cooking equipment.

"Cool! I'm starved!" The smell of food pulled my attention away from the battle for a moment.

"Ash! Don't get distracted!" Dawn snapped me out of my trance. _Right. Can't eat now. I'm in the middle of a battle._ Still, it was really tempting. Battling always makes me work up an appetite.

I shifted my gaze back to the battlefield just as Kashdan chose his second pokémon.

"Magmortar! Battle mode!"

"Mag-mooooor-tarrrr!"

A behemoth of a pokémon appeared on the grass, its body glowing with red and yellow flames. The fire-type radiated heat, which was drastically different from the chills that Sableye gave off.

_I've seen this pokémon before. Paul had a magmortar when I battled him at Lake Acuity. Back then I got a taste of just how powerful and resilient this pokémon is. That, combined with Kashdan's strategic skill…_

I shook it off. I had a lot of catching up to do and I knew it better than anyone. Just need to stop making rookie mistakes.

If I remembered correctly, magmortar's ability was flame body, which gave Pikachu a nasty burn on impact. _Makes sense_, I thought. _It's practically made out of fire_.

Staraptor's moves were quick attack, wing attack, aerial ace, and brave bird. All four of those moves are physical and make contact, so no matter what I do, Staraptor will be affected by flame body. _Probably best to switch out_.

"Staraptor, return!" I called the bird back to its pokéball. All eyes were on me for my next choice.

I wasn't taking chances. It was time to go for the advantage. "Gible! I choose you!"

The small ground-type pokémon appeared in front of me. Then, like always, it turned around and bit me right on the head. "Gib! Gible!"

"OW! Gible, not now! We're in the middle of a battle!"

I yanked him off my head and set him back down on the ground. _Now I have the advantage. But what's my plan?_

"Ok Magmortar, go ahead and use sunny day."

_Plan. I need a plan. Think fast!_

"Gible, dragon pulse!"

I began to feel uncomfortably hot, like it was the middle of summer. Magmortar's flames were burning brighter than before. Right. Sunny day increases the power of fire-type moves. _Kashdan is trying to overpower me._

Just then, Gible released a huge amount of energy from its equally huge jaw, pulsing with blue light. It came close to scoring a direct hit, but Magmortar moved at the last second, causing it to only hit Magmortar on one side. _Darn. It was a powerful move too._

"Now Magmortar! Flamethrower!"

"Gible! Dodge it with dig!"

A blast of fire came toward Gible at a quick pace. Luckily, Gible was barely able to dig underground before it hit him, leaving a scorched patch of grass where the hole was.

I couldn't relax just yet though. Gible still had to come aboveground, and when he did, I had to come up with a good strategy. Plus, dragon pulse must have seriously worn him down. _We could always try…_

Gible popped out of the ground on the other side of the battlefield. "Gible!"

"Magmortar! Behind you!"

"Mag?" Magmortar turned around to face Gible.

I had one chance to get this right. "Gible, use draco meteor!"

Gible began to collect energy inside of him, focusing hard. A ball of orange light began to expand in his jaw, which was open wide and tilted toward the sky. It grew bigger and bigger, until it filled up his entire mouth (that's a pretty hard thing to do). Then, in a powerful flash, it soared straight up into the sky like a giant orange firework.

_Please work…_

The ball began to slow down as it reached its highest point.

_Come on…_

There was a "pop" sound, and one single meteor came out of the ball of light, whistling as it fell toward the ground. Or rather…toward Piplup.

"PIPLUP!" The blue penguin jumped out of Dawn's arms and started to run toward Brock.

Brock looked up from where he was setting up the table. "Don't come over here Piplup! The food!"

It was too late. The meteor crashed into the table, knocking Brock backwards and spilling all the food on top of him.

"Sorry Brock!" I was really looking forward to lunch too.

The battle was still going on, so I didn't have time to worry about the mess I just made. Anyway, I was sure that Dawn was going to yell at me later about this anyway.

Kashdan's focus was still on the battlefield. I wasn't sure he even noticed that I had just caused our lunch to explode.

"Magmortar, use focus punch!"

Magmortar's cannon-like fist began to glow a bright white color, as he drew it back in preparation to unleash a super-powerful punch. This didn't look too good for Gible.

"Gible, dodge quickly!"

Gible jumped up into the air to dodge the punch, but he was too early. Magmortar simply changed the direction of its punch, and struck home.

"Oh no! Gible!" Gible landed on the ground on its back.

"Now Magmortar, finish Gible with flamethrower". Kashdan was trying to take me down when I was weakest, again. _That's not going to work on me twice in a row_.

"Gible, get up and dodge with dig!"

"Gible!" Gible struggled to its feet, then managed to dive underground again just before the flamethrower hit. Using the same move to dodge two times was always risky. However, I had a plan.

"Magmortar, keep your flamethrower aimed at that hole!" Kashdan had already adjusted to my dodging tactics.

"Gible, get aboveground! Quick!"

Behind Magmortar, Gible leapt out of the ground, tailed closely by the flamethrower, which went straight up into the air behind Gible.

"Now use draco meteor again!"

I could hear Piplup protesting on the sidelines. "PIP PIP PIP PIP PIPLUUUUUUP!"

"It's ok Piplup! Just watch!"

Gible began to gather energy again, starting over the process that ruined the food Brock made.

"Magmortar, quickly turn around and use fire blast while Gible is still storing energy!"

I expected as much. After all, the sunny day was still in effect. But none of what Kashdan was doing mattered if I could pull off the next move.

"Gible! Close your eyes and imagine that Piplup is standing on top of Magmortar's head!"  
"Gib!" Gible closed its eyes. Another orange ball of light was growing inside of his mouth, getting bigger by the second.

"MAG. MOOR. TARRRR!" Five wide jets of fire erupted out of Magmortar in the shape of a star. Then they began to spin around him. Gible didn't have much time.

"GIBLE! NOW!"

The ball of energy shot up into the air just as Gible was struck by the fire blast. I prayed to Dialga and Palkia that this move would work like I planned.

A flash of light came from above. Then, there was a "pop!" sound. I was almost afraid to look.

"Magmortar! Dodge it! To the left! No! To the right! Use focus punch! Wait no! Don't do that!"

I focused my attention on Kashdan. He looked and sounded completely flustered. Then I noticed that the bright yellow meteor was falling down straight onto Magmortar. _No matter how he moves, the meteor follows. Draco meteor may not have worked like it should have, but it's definitely serving my purpose._

Piplup looked on from the sidelines in amazement. "Piplup…"

The meteor struck home, landing right on Magmortar's head. A cloud of smoke formed on impact, but when it cleared, Magmortar was on the ground, swirly eyed and unable to battle.

"Magmortar is unable to battle! Gible wins!"

"Gible!"

Surprisingly, Gible had managed to land on its feet after being hit by Magmortar's fire blast. I could tell he was really tired, but at least he was still standing.

"Good job, Gible!", I said as Kashdan recalled Magmortar.

"That was an interesting move, Ash."

"Huh?"

Kashdan was talking to me from the other side of the battlefield.

"You're really not half bad".

That made me a little mad. "Of course I'm not half bad! And why are you saying that anyway? I thought you were my fan!"

"What?" Dawn was a little surprised by what I just said. "He's your fan?"

_Oh yeah. She wasn't there when Kashdan told me that_.

I nodded. "Kashdan said so a little while before you got back from looking for fruit."

"I didn't know you had fans." Dawn was just teasing me now.

"Neither did I", I mumbled to myself.

All eyes were on Kashdan once again for him to choose his next pokémon. His multicolored eyes were intently focused on the battlefield. I could tell he was thinking hard.

Finally, he made a decision. "Sableye! Battle mode!"

Sableye was back on the battlefield. It was still worn out from battling Buizel though, so I doubted that it could do much to Gible.

"Sableye, use psychic!"

Uh-oh.

A dark blue outline surrounded Gible, and Gible was plucked off its feet.

"Hang in there Gible!" I wasn't prepared for this move. _Kashdan must have been saving it to catch me off guard_. I had to come up with something really fast, otherwise Gible would be knocked out.

Then I noticed that Gible was still facing Sableye, even in the air.

"Gible! Gather the last of your strength and use dragon pulse!" It was the only option I had left to take Sableye down.

"Sableye! Smash Gible into the ground!"

Sableye didn't move. Gible remained stationary in the air as he gathered up blue dragon energy in his jaw. _It had to be stall._ Sableye's special ability was working in _my_ favor this time.

"Now Gible!" I didn't want to waste any time anyway.

Gible released a powerful pulsing light, hitting Sableye dead on.

"Sablaaaa!" The blue light keeping Gible afloat disappeared, and Gible fell to the ground rather uncomfortably.

Sableye was clearly down for the count, but I didn't know if Gible was still able to battle after that psychic attack. "Gible? Are you okay?"

"Gib…." Apparently not.

"Sableye and Gible are both unable to battle!" Dawn called the tie from the sidelines. At least I was making progress. Kashdan and I both recalled our pokémon.

"Why don't we stop the battle here?" Kashdan spoke up.

"Huh?" I was shocked. "I thought this was a three on three battle! We can't stop yet!" He offers me a battle, then doesn't want to finish it? I couldn't even begin to understand what was going on behind those multicolored eyes of his.

"Well, actually…" Kashdan seemed a little embarrassed. "I only have two pokémon on me. I was hoping I didn't need to use a third one, so I offered you a three on three battle."

Some fan _he_ was.

Kashdan's words made Dawn really mad. She marched over to him and began to yell in his face. "Look! That kind of confidence won't get you anywhere! Why didn't you just say you wanted a two on two battle? Some gyms do do that you know!"

Kashdan took a step back. I guess Dawn could get pretty scary when she wanted to.

"Ok! Sorry! My bad!"

Dawn cooled off a little. "Good. Now let's have lunch." The two of them started to walk toward where Brock was re-making lunch.

"Jeez, you don't need to be so touchy. I'm sure your boyfriend can speak up for himself."

Kashdan was mumbling a little too loudly.

Dawn immediately turned around to face him again. "ASH IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!"

She sounded so exasperated it was almost as if she's had this conversation before.

Kashdan stepped back again. "Ok! Not your boyfriend! Got it!"

I didn't get what all the fuss was about. I thought it was pretty obvious that we weren't a couple. Either way, food was the only thing on my mind at the moment.

"Come on! Let's just go help Brock get lunch ready, ok? I'm _reaaaaalllly_ hungry!"

The others didn't argue with that. We were all pretty hungry at that point.  
Dawn and I ran over to Brock while Kashdan trailed behind, a little slower. His bandages weren't any less stiff than they were before our battle, and I was still surprised he could stand at all.

"That was a great battle, Ash."

"Huh?" I was so focused on the food that I didn't realize Dawn was talking to me.

"Your battle. It was super exciting to watch."

I scratched the back of my head. "Thanks Dawn. I guess."

"Pika!" Pikachu, who had been perched on my shoulder the entire time I was battling Kashdan, finally spoke up.

"You liked it too Pikachu?"

"Piiiika. Pi-KA-chu!"

"Hey thanks buddy! Sorry you didn't get to battle."

My eyes drifted over to the bush where Kashdan had first appeared. He was sitting there alone, like he was before we had our battle.  
_What a strange guy._

I suspected that Kashdan wasn't just any normal person, but I didn't know what he was. His battle style was unique, and so was his personality. A little creepy, if you ask me, but not nearly as creepy as, say, Conway. More…mysterious. He knew what I was going to say before the words came out of my mouth, but he didn't seem to predict all of my moves during the battle. Plus, he didn't want to answer my questions about his eyes. They still stood out on him like white against black, and were impossible not to notice.

I stared at him hard, remembering what he said about Sunyshore City.

Something was definitely going on here. Something big.

And I had a bad feeling it involved me.


End file.
